secrets. Besides his family, the rest of the vampire world didn’t know he could essentially become invisible, and it was critical for it to stay that way. So much of his dark reputation was tied to his mystery and how he simply managed to appear out of thin air.
While he might have spotted ghosts walking on the streets his first night as a vampire, his ability to slip easily into their world hadn’t kicked in for another several years. But even with the delay, he’d had plenty of practice walking here. He felt at home among the dead as much as he did with his brothers.
Looking around, he took in the usual pale glow that emanated from his surroundings, as if things in the living world took on a sort of heavenly inner light that beat back the overall darkness. As a creature that was still part of the living world, he couldn’t move through objects like the ghosts could, nor could he pick things up, which was more than a little annoying.
With one eye out for the vampires, Winter hurried through the aisles, glancing over the various objects on display for sale. There had to be something interesting here to use against his pursuers. There were only a couple of ghosts moving through the store. One actually appeared to be a woman fresh off a jog looking through the racks of yoga pants. He tried to move away from her, but she caught sight of him.
“Excuse me!” she called loudly. “Excuse me, do you work here?”
“No, I’m sorry I don’t,” Winter said solemnly.
She made a noise that was part sigh and part growl. “It’s like we’re the only ones in the store. I can’t find anyone to let me in a dressing room.”
Winter gave a little nod to acknowledge her before quickly turning down another aisle. Sometimes the dead didn’t realize they had passed on. He wondered if maybe she’d suffered a heart attack while jogging and just continued to the store following death. Others realized and pleaded with him to help them, but there was nothing he could do. All that unfinished business talk was bullshit. It didn’t matter if they accomplished one last deed or not, they moved on eventually to whatever came after this place.
Some held on longer than others, but in the end, they all faded.
Pausing at an endcap, Winter spotted one vampire sprinting up an escalator to the second floor while another cut to the right side of the store. The last vampire was working his way down the aisles closest to the camping supplies. Winter smirked and hurried ahead of him.
He stopped and opened the doorway between worlds just enough to stick his hand through. Snatching up a long bundle of rope, he pulled it back inside and closed the opening again. He repeated the action, grabbing a large knife and a hatchet. Yes, this was just perfect.
With his weapons tucked around his body and rope slung over his shoulder, he cautiously circled to where the vampire was still creeping through the left side of the store. It was easy enough to move behind the man since he was invisible to him. The vampire was a large brute with a shaved head and tattoos across his throat. The creature didn’t feel as if he were more than a couple of decades old as a vampire. Practically a baby. Winter almost felt guilty about what he was going to do. Almost.
But any guilt was easy to shove aside since he knew these fucks were plotting to kill his family. He just needed to get a little information first.
Slipping behind the vampire, Winter opened the doorway again and grabbed a fistful of the man’s shirt before pressing the point of the knife against his back.
“What the fuck?” the bastard snarled.
“You’re coming with me,” Winter whispered. He pulled the man until he was in the dead world and closed the opening behind him. This wasn’t the most comfortable thing to do—it required more energy to keep the other vampire held in this world. It was as if the dead knew he didn’t belong here and the energy in the world kept trying to spit him out.
“Wh-what…what the fuck? What did you do?” the vampire stammered.
“I brought you to my world,” Winter replied with a little chuckle. “I hear you want the Variks dead.”
“Your clan is destroying our kind,” the vampire spit out, but there was still a little waver to his voice.